


Reanimated

by flashpilot



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: F/M, Multi, i have no clue what i'm doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-08-11 13:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashpilot/pseuds/flashpilot
Summary: Rain Valentine belongs to Speedythecat





	1. Chapter 1

Morro slowly opened his eyes, the bright light blinding him. His eyes felt heavy and were pounding from all his senses being overwhelmed. Something was terribly wrong. He desperately tried to remember the last thing that had happened to him, but his mind was too foggy to pull the memories back. He thought he heard a voice calling to him. No… there _was_ a voice. The sounds slowly reformed and made sense to him.

“Hello? Hello? Oh man are you okay? Oh gosh, oh jeez…”

Morro’s sight began to unblur, revealing a young girl to him. He figured she was about his age. She had fairly light skin, dual brown and orange colored hair, and was dressed in a mustard brown jacket and dark purple pants. What struck out most to him was her magenta eyes. They were incredibly bright, almost piercing to look at.

“Oh no. Oh man I screwed this one up bad!” The girl began pacing back and forth. Morro had no clue what she could be talking about. He began to turn his head, taking in his surroundings. It took a moment, but he recognized where he was. He felt his heart sink lower in his chest. _“The Caves of Despair…”_ he thought. _“This is where I... died…”_

Something was definitely wrong.

“Okay! Okay! Listen I um, I need to explain something!” the girl said frantically. She was panicked and shaking. “I didn’t mean to… oh man I um, I didn’t know!”

Morro groaned and sat himself up straight. “Stop stuttering and tell me what’s going on!” His frustration was apparent in his voice, and it made the girl more nervous.

“Don’t be mad at me! I, um, I, I,” she stuttered.

“Spit it out already!”

“Okay! Okay! Let me explain!” She shut her eyes and grabbed the sides of her head with both her hands. “I have this power, I can, um, make inanimate objects alive. With my life force. And control them. And I saw your body and I thought, I thought.” Her breath got shaky. “I thought I could maybe animate it. But I didn’t know this was gonna happen!! I swear I didn’t know!”

That’s when the reality of what was happening hit him. If he was in the Caves of Despair, then he was in Ninjago. Somehow this girl summoned him from the Departed Realm. Morro looked down at his body. His hands were real, actual flesh. He was alive again.

“How did you do this?” Morro asked, turning his face to the girl. He could tell she was terrified at this point, she looked like she could pass out at any moment.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. I’ve animated bones before, this has never happened before.” She looked like she was going to cry. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly.

Morro felt his anger bubbling up in his veins. He groaned and got up on his feet. “You stupid girl! I was dead! I was at peace in the Departed Realm and your idiocracy brought me back here!”

“I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t know!” she cried. “But you couldn’t possibly be at peace, that much I do know! I’ve animated bones before, this never happened before!”

“Whatever you did you need to undo it right now!” Morro said as he bared his teeth, trembling with rage. What kind of careless moron would tamper with someone’s body like that? It was beyond disrespectful! The girl furrowed her brow, now looking more annoyed.

“You think I didn’t try that when you started growing back skin and organs and stuff!? I can’t!”

“What do you mean you can’t!?”

“I mean I CAN’T!” she shouted back. “Something is stopping me, I can’t make your body inanimate anymore! I’m _SORRY_!” She covered her mouth and looked shocked at her tone of voice. Her eyes met with Morro’s and he could see the tears begin to stream down her face. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t... I didn’t mean to… ”

Morro took a deep breath to calm himself. Her voice was genuine, filled with pain and regret for what she had done. For some reason, seeing her cry made him feel odd, almost like he was feeling her pain. There was no use continuing to yell at her, clearly this was getting the both of them nowhere. If this girl could really control what she animated, and if she really is animating Morro’s body, perhaps it was best not to get on her bad side.

“Okay, listen, you’ve made a mistake. A big mistake. But I think there’s someone here in Ninjago that will know how to fix this,” he said, slowly walking closer to her. “We’ll just go and find him. His name is Master Wu.”

She squinted. “Master Wu? Why?”

“He… was my sensei,” Morro replied. “He may know what you did to me and how we can undo it.”

“Okay, yeah, that sounds good, where is he?” Morro paused. He wasn’t exactly sure how long he’d been gone since the Day of the Departed. They could be anywhere.

“We’ll go into Ninjago City and ask around. They’re ninja, they move around a lot.”

“Oh!” the girl exclaimed. “I know where that is!” Morro gave her a sarcastic look. Who _doesn’t_ know where Ninjago City is? “Aw stop looking at me like that! I’m just trying to reassure you!”

“Oh believe me, I feel very reassured,” responded flatly. The girl frowned. “ _Whoever he is, he’s not terribly nice,”_ she thought _. “I guess I just gotta be nice to him then!”_ She held out her hand.

“I’m TJ,” she said smiling widely, revealing a small gap in her front teeth. Her smile was uneven and crooked, but still pleasant to look at. It seemed genuine.

Morro looked at her hand and noticed she had some kind of magenta vein pattern on her hands. He’d never seen anything like it before. TJ realized what he was staring at, and her face changed from smiley to awkward. She cleared her throat audibly. Morro paused for a moment, then shook her hand. “Morro.”

“Morro, aw, that’s a cute name!” Morro blinked in confusion. He had never heard that one before. She let go of his hand. “I really am so sorry for yelling at you, I swear, I hate yelling.”

“It’s fine. I guess I was yelling too.”

“Oh no, it was more like screaming,” she laughed. “But it’s okay, I get screamed at a lot!” TJ paused for a moment, then her face lit up red with embarrassment. She didn’t mean to put it like that. “I mean, I mean um-”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to explain it to me.”

She smiled in thanks. “Okay. Let’s get out of this cave and onto my bike, shall we?”

“You have a bike?”

“Yeah! It’s really nice! I can even drive it without animating it!” she beamed proudly, showing off her incredible skill set. Her pose was that of a goofy superhero with her arms bent outward. Morro let a small chuckle out from her silliness.

“Very impressive.”

“Yeah, thanks! Come on, let’s go!” TJ went to grab Morro’s hand, but he pulled away suddenly. TJ’s eyes widened at his sudden movement and she pulled her hand back.

“Don’t,” Morro said. “I’m coming with you to fix your mess you made of me. I’m not your friend.”

“Ah, haha, sorry,” TJ trailed off as she rubbed her hands. The light in her eyes dimmed a bit. She seemed ashamed. “Just, um, follow me.” TJ motioned at Morro with her hand, and the pair began walking through the caves together.


	2. Chapter 2

TJ kept the lead while walking through the cave tunnels with Morro closely behind. As they were travelling, dark memories kept coming to him in waves. Being trapped inside the cave walls, the gas building up, slowly losing his consciousness as his breaths heaved in and out with immense pain, the flames crawling on his skin.

He didn’t like being reminded of it.

Morro didn’t realize it, but he had begun to walk faster, catching up to TJ. His heart was beginning to slam his chest, sweat beads forming on his brow. TJ turned to him with a look of concern in her eyes, then turned her head back forward and kept at her pace. She didn’t know what to say to this strange boy with her. _Sorry you died and I brought you back from your grave!_ wasn’t exactly appropriate. She felt so incredibly torn up, but she had to say _something_.

“We’re almost out, I promise,” she said softly. Morro responded with an uncomfortable noise that got stuck in his drying throat. He didn’t want to seem weak or vulnerable, but the flashbacks piercing his mind were more difficult to ignore than he anticipated. Morro pulled at the sleeves of his jacket, trying to ground himself.

“I’m fine,” he responded, not fooling TJ for a second. She may have not been the most clever person in Ninjago, but Morro was full of it. That much she certainly knew. She didn’t let her heart harden over it, though, this was her fault and she was going to fix it. She would make things better… somehow. He deserved it.

As they turned down the winding cave corridor, the light at the end of the tunnel revealed itself. Morro once again picked up speed, moving right past TJ and into the open. His eyes adjusted to the new light, revealing a dusty red plateau littered with cave openings. Morro let out a sigh of relief when he saw the sun setting in the sky. There were no walls, nothing to fall and crush and trap him forever. He took a deep breath, and the sweet evening air almost tasted like freedom. Almost.

TJ spoke up. “See, I told you, wasn’t much farther up.” She smiled at him, happy to see him calmer, but his joy was short lived. Morro shoved his hands back into his leather jacket pockets- which it suddenly occurred to him he didn’t know how he got any of his clothes- and turned to face TJ.

“It’s getting late, we should be going.” TJ’s face became neutral. “ _He’s awfully guarded, isn’t he?”_ she thought.

“Yeah, I gotcha, let me call my bike.”

“I’m sorry, _call_ your bike?” Morro asked.

“Yeah, they’re around here somewhere,” TJ said while scanning her surroundings. “Monty!!!! Come here baby!!! Come to momma!!!”

There was a silence in the air, then suddenly a noise that sounded like an engine mixed with… hissing? In the distance, a red blur came racing toward TJ and Morro. Morro stepped back, unsure if what was hurtling toward them was indeed Monty, but a quick glance at TJ’s excited face reassured him. The blur whipped past the both of them and circled a few times before stopping right next to TJ. It was a motorcycle, a Fangpyre-bitten one.

Monty began to nuzzle TJ with their face, and she ran her hand down their face while giggling. Morro took a moment to examine the creature. He always heard about the Serpentine, even meeting Pythor briefly on the Day of the Departed, but that was the extent of his contact. The creature had a frame of a low riding motorcycle, but the front fender was a snake’s face. It also had a tail extending from the, well, tail end of the bike. Wrapped up in their tail was an old, battered backpack. Monty was colored brilliant shades of red and black, and had an impressive set of fangs as well. Its eyes were a vibrant yellow with black, slitted pupils. They paused for a moment and made eye contact with Morro. Monty crept closer with a low hiss emanating from their mouth.

“TJ. TJ what is it doing?” Morro said, his voice beginning to shake. He extended his hand from his side, ready to summon the powers of the wind if necessary. Monty squinted their eyes and inched closer, stopping right in front of Morro. Morro stood frozen, waiting for an attack, prepared to strike back. Suddenly, Monty rubbed their head against Morro's stomach.

“Awwww, Morro they like you!” TJ beamed. Morro was frozen as the Fangpyre affectionately buried their face into his stomach. He hadn't had an animal show interest in him in years. It felt odd, but he didn’t dislike it.

“Go ahead, pet them!” TJ commanded, a huge smile still present on her face. Morro mindlessly placed his hand on Monty’s head and rubbed it. Monty shook their tail in excitement, still gripping the backpack, and dug their face into Morro's stomach even deeper.

“Good, um… snake,” Morro said. He was beginning to get uncomfortable. He turned to TJ. “Can we go now? It's getting late and it's kind of important we see Sensei Wu.”

“Of course, yeah!” TJ replied. “Monty baby come here, it's time to go!” Monty turned from Morro and drove back up to TJ. She climbed into Monty’s seat and scooted up best she could. She tapped the back of the seat with her hand. “Hop aboard.”

Morro climbed on behind TJ and tried to settle himself. The seat was awfully small, really only meant for one person. He was forced up to TJ's back, his body caressing hers. He felt his face to start to burn. He didn't like the closeness one bit. “Is there any other way we could get there?”

“Aw dude, I'm not _that_ gross,” TJ joked. “Haha, but seriously, we don't want to be out here in the dark. Just hold onto me and you won't fall off.” Morro sighed and wrapped his arms around TJ, and she felt her heart skip a beat for a moment. The feeling of Morro's arms pulled soft memories into her mind. It had been a little while since anyone had rode with her like this, and the last time was with… she pushed the thought away. No use thinking of her now.

“Alright! Ninjago City, here we come!”


	3. Chapter 3

The dust of the desert was stirred up as Monty’s tires ripped through the terrain at high speed. Morro clung desperately onto TJ’s torso as the wind pushed both their bodies backward. Morro knew he had control of the wind and could easily cause it to part around the swift trio, but the way it was blowing through his hair excited him. There was no wind in the Departed Realm, no life in the air like Ninjago has. The thought of being alive again began to settle in his mind. He  _ felt  _ alive in this moment. Morro closed his eyes as an unfamiliar warmth bloomed in his chest. There were so many feelings stirring up- joy, excitement, and… nervousness? Morro opened his eyes again. Why would he be nervous? Perhaps it was the thought of seeing his father, Master Wu, again? Or how the other ninja would react to his return? Or… his grip around TJ’s torso tightened. He wasn’t sure.

TJ felt Morro’s arms move in closer and she withheld a shudder down her spine. He was surprisingly warm against her back. TJ smiled, enjoying his closeness more than she cared to admit. She felt a heat come across her face as the dry air grazed her cheeks.  _ Must be the wind, _ she thought, despite the fact the sun was already barely visible on the horizon. The pair rode in silence out of the desert into Ninjago City.

Once they reached the city the sun had completely vanished, and the traces of warmth left in the air dissipated. The pair was draped in the glow of the neon lights surrounding them. It had been a while since Morro had seen so much light. The Departed Realm was so dark and dreary… in all honesty, it was lifeless, for lack of a better word.

“It’s too late to go find your Ninja Master, Morro,” TJ said, eyes focused on the road. “We’ll just crash at my place tonight. Don’t worry, I have a really comfy couch!” Morro groaned in response, but he knew she was right. Showing up at this time of night uninvited would cause more problems than solutions. Anyone who knew where the ninja were hiding would be long asleep anyways. Besides, he could feel the exhaustion setting in. Returning from the dead must have took up a lot of energy.

After numerous twists and turns through the city, the trio arrived at the docks. The area was completely devoid of people, to the point it was eerie. They halted in front of a shipment container house near the edge of the water, and TJ raised her hand into the air. A plume of what appeared to be magenta smoke rose out of her arm and into the palm of her hand. Morro noticed the veins on her hands creep farther down her arm and out of view due to her jacket sleeve. TJ threw the smoke-like substance to the wide garage door of the container and the smoke was absorbed into it. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a garage littered with machine parts and a gigantic heat lamp to the left of the room. TJ turned around and beamed at Morro.

“This is the kind of stuff I can do.” Her pride was apparent in her voice.

“So you don’t just play with skeletons in abandoned caves?” Morro smirked. He was slightly pleased at his little jab at her. TJ laughed.

“Nah, you’re a special exception!” She winked at him and his smirk faded away. She was an odd girl for sure. TJ drove them inside and used her powers to shut the door to her makeshift home. Once the pair dismounted, Monty positioned themself under the heat lamp. TJ gave their head a few pats before turning back to Morro.

“Come on, I’ll show you the inside!”

Organized was not a word often used to describe TJ. Her home was cluttered with tattered and utterly useless objects, or so it seemed to Morro. A teddy bear with no arms on the couch, busted and mismatched china in the cabinets, ugly, lumpy fruit in a cracked bowl in the kitchen. The entire house had an aura of disarray. TJ led Morro through every room, chatting about her various objects in her collection of sorts. Though showing a new face around was exciting for her, it was testing Morro’s patience.

“Like Mr. Graham!” she said as she grabbed the armless bear. “Nobody wanted him! I couldn’t just leave him there, they’d throw him out and then he’d be all alone and sad!” Her eyes became misty at the thought of the poor teddy out in the cold. Morro had no such sympathy.

“It’s not real. It doesn’t have any feelings. It’s just some dumb toy.” Morro’s face didn’t hide his disinterest one bit. He was exhausted and TJ’s nonstop word vomit was not helping. TJ’s face drooped as she set Mr. Graham back on the couch.

“Maybe not to you…” she muttered, barely audible.

“If you’re done telling me about your junk I’d like to go to sleep now.”

“Jeez, alright Mr. Grumpy. Let me get you some pjs and blankets and I’ll leave you be.” TJ retreated to her bedroom, leaving Morro alone in the living room, well, aside from Mr. Graham. Morro was being so mean to Mr. Graham! He didn’t have to be so insufferable! She smiled with satisfaction as she picked out the worst pair of pajamas she owned. Aw yeah, that would show him! She stopped for a moment then grabbed the softest blanket she owned. Didn’t want to be too mean.

In the short moment TJ was gone, Morro scanned his surroundings another time. It was so much different than how he had lived. With all his time spent training to be the Green Ninja, he didn’t have time for sentimentality. He had one singular focus, one that cursed him with tunnel vision. He couldn’t recall the last time he played, if he ever had. He picked up the bear and examined it. The bear was a golden graham cracker color.  _ Was _ . It had nearly faded into an awful shade of yellowish gray. The arms had clearly been torn off and the body was haphazardly sewn back to fill the void. It was old, tattered, and all around a useless object that clearly needed to be discarded. It had no purpose, no reason to warrant being loved. Yet… TJ loved it. Morro’s thoughts were interrupted by TJ reentering the living room.

“What are you doing?” TJ asked, a small amount of panic apparent in her voice.

“Nothing.” Morro set Mr. Graham back down on the couch.

“Well, um, okay,” TJ replied. “I got you that stuff I said.” She handed the articles over to Morro. He set the blanket down on the couch and unfolded the clothes. In his hands was the tackiest “I survived my trip to Ninjago City” shirt and an atrocious neon pink and black pair of zebra striped pants. Morro shook his head at TJ.

“No way I’m wearing this. Absolutely not.” Disgust was painted across his scowling face. 

“Yes you are,” TJ said matter-of-factly while folding her arms. “Because I need to wash my clothes you’re borrowing. Plus, I’d like to have my leather jacket back.”

“These are  _ your  _ clothes?”

“Uh, yeah, duh. You didn’t exactly grow any clothes back with your skin and stuff.”

“But that means…” Morro’s face turned bright red. “Oh First Spinjitzu Master, you saw me  _ naked _ ?!”

TJ tensed up, blood rushing to her face as well. “I mean I didn’t mean to! I wasn’t expecting you to come to life or anything!”

“My shirt… my  _ underwear _ !”

“They’re clean Morro, oh my gosh!” TJ covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. “Please just put the pajamas on already!!!” Morro ran off to the bathroom as quickly as he could. He’d do anything just to be out of that room with TJ. TJ ran back to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

That did not have to be  _ that  _ awkward.

Morro placed his back against the bathroom door. Why was his heart beating so hard? He tugged at his hair trying to get control of himself. Why did that stupid girl make everything so weird!? She ruins everything! Oh, how she made him mad!

Eventually Morro made his way back to the living room, draped in the worst outfit he’d ever donned in his life. It’d all be over with soon. He’d find Wu, and Wu would fix this, and he’d never have to see her stupid gap-toothed face again. Morro settled down onto the couch and pulled up onto him the softest cover he’d ever felt. It was like a cloud on his skin. Suddenly, TJ walked in with a pillow in her hands.

“I, uh, realized I forgot to give you this.” She handed it to Morro, and he took it without thanks. TJ played with her shirt, avoiding eye contact. “Are you still mad at me?” she asked quietly. Morro glared at her, his green eyes flickering like a ghostly flame. “Oh…” Morro set his head down on his pillow.

“It’s fine. In the morning Wu will fix all this and then we’ll never have to see each other again.” The “never” struck daggers into TJ’s heart. Morro’s words burned like venom to an open wound. His tone was layered in toxicity, and TJ could tell he wanted her gone as soon as possible.

“I’m not that bad am I?” She could feel tears begin to build but held them back. Morro only groaned.

“Can you leave me alone already?” He buried his face into his pillow, unwilling to look TJ in the face.

“Okay.” TJ pulled at the back of her hair as she spoke. “Um, goodnight, Morro, sleep well.” He grunted at her from the back of his throat, deep and nasty. TJ frowned and took a final look at Morro before returning to her bedroom.

\-----

Morro was awoken by a pain in his chest so powerful it nearly suffocated him. He jolted from sleep, sitting upright on the couch, clutching his hand over his heart. He was certain he was stabbed, but upon inspection there was no blood rushing out, no tears on his clothing. He placed his hand underneath his shirt to his bare skin, unbroken over his sternum. His eyes began to swell up with tears and he couldn’t stop them from falling down his face. Morro thought for sure he was dying, but why? What was causing this calamity inside of him?

He heard a sudden cry break the thick silence surrounding him. Tears still pouring out his eyes, Morro rose from the couch and followed the sounds of the sobs across the house, stopping right by TJ’s bedroom door. It was open just enough to take a peek inside, which Morro positioned himself to do so. He could hear TJ through the open space.

“I don’t get it,” TJ heaved out between sobs, talking to herself in her dark bedroom. “I’m trying so hard to be nice to him! I can’t get him to smile or laugh or anything. He hates me! I ruined his life and there’s nothing I can do about it.” TJ bent down, clutching her pillow to her chest, and Morro felt another unbearable wave of pain hit his heart. He had to clench his teeth to keep from screaming.

“It’s the weirdest thing, any time I animate something I always feel like me… but this time I keep feeling things I know aren’t me. I think… I’m feeling  _ him _ .”

Suddenly, it made sense. The unusual bursts of warmth, the nervousness on the ride into the city, the pain he felt at this very moment. Those were TJ’s emotions he was feeling… somehow.

“He’s in so much pain. So much grief and I don’t know what to do or how to make it better. I’m probably so annoying,” TJ cried. “He hates me. I know it. He hates me.”

Morro backed away from the door and placed his back against the nearby wall. His breathing was frantic and shaky. He couldn’t separate his emotions from TJ’s no matter how hard he tried. Bitter tears stained his face as he desperately clawed at his shirt, right over his heart. She knew his level of contempt for her,  _ felt  _ it even, and still tried to be compassionate and kind to him. Morro knew he didn’t deserve any of it, yet she still tried to make him happy. Guilt began to eat at Morro, he knew he had been rotten to her, there was no forgiving him.

Morro took in a sharp breath. The least he could do is try to soothe her pain for the both of their sakes. Morro gazed back at the couch catching sight of Mr. Graham still sitting contently among the covers. An idea sparked in his mind.

A knock came to TJ’s bedroom door, which halted her crying. TJ’s mind panicked as she realized Morro must have heard her crying. She tried to stuff her embarrassment down and calm her voice before speaking.

“C-come in.” A light flipped on, flooding the room and revealing a red-eyed Morro in the doorway. TJ’s face began to burn. He heard her speaking into the night, he must have.

“Hey TJ.” Morro’s voice was uncharacteristically soft. He pulled the worn-out teddy bear from behind his back. “Mr. Graham was, um, talking to me and he said, uh, you were having a bad night. So he wanted to come and see you. Make sure you were okay.”

A small smile formed on TJ’s face. “He really said that to you?”

“Yeah, he did. And um,” Morro stepped closer and held the bear out to TJ. “He wants to um, give you a hug, but he has no arms, and, and, um…” Morro began to trail off.

“It’s okay Morro, I know what you mean.” She grabbed the bear from him and held it to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Morro sat down on the bed next to her.

“Mr. Graham says I’ve been a real jerk, too.” Morro took a deep breath. “TJ, I want you to know, um, I’m sorry.” TJ smiled softly at Morro.

“Thank you, Morro. I know you’re hurting over something, I don’t know what it is but I wanna be there for you. I wanna be your friend.” Morro averted his eyes in shame.

“I don’t deserve that.”

“Of course you do you goof. You said sorry, didn’t you? You’re trying and that’s what matters. Besides,” TJ moved in and hugged Morro, giving him a little squeeze. Before he could process what was going on, TJ pulled away. “Mr. Graham and I forgive you.”

Morro chuckled to himself, trying not to blush. He wasn’t expecting such a good reaction from her, but he wasn’t opposed to it. “Thank you, Mr. Graham, and thank you, TJ.” Morro rose from the bed. “I think we should get some sleep now.”

“Okie dokes, goodnight Morro,” TJ said to him as he walked to the door. He turned back just before exiting.

“Goodnight, TJ.”


	4. Chapter 4

Morro felt the Preeminent’s grip tighten around his waist. Morro, the loyal general of her cursed ghost army, had failed her. As she sunk into the frigid depths of Stiix, she made sure to drag him down with her. Morro could see his old sensei aboard his elemental dragon through the surface of the water. Morro’s body kept sinking, deeper and deeper, frozen into place by the chilled waters. His heart sunk along with him. As his ghostly form began to dissipate, Morro closed his eyes in preparation of what was to come. There was no reason to fight the inevitable, no reason to struggle to stay alive. This was his fate.

Suddenly, a warmth spread across his cheek and through his hair. A fire burned back to life inside his chest. But something was wrong, this wasn’t how he remembered his second departure. Morro opened his eyes, not to the darkness of the sea, but to TJ’s living room he fell asleep in the night before. Morro turned his head to find TJ sitting down on the couch beside him, her eyes filled with concern as she scanned his face.

“Were you having a nightmare?” TJ asked. Morro sighed.

“How did you know that?”

“I could feel it.” That’s right, their emotions were linked. “Plus you were sweating a lot and saying something about a Preeminent. What is that?”

Morro averted his eyes from TJ’s soft gaze. “It’s nothing.” TJ knew better than that.

“Morro you know you can talk to me about it right?” TJ’s fingers began to run through Morro’s hair, bringing back the warmth from his dream. The contact gave his heart a sudden jolt, causing him to pull away from her touch, eyes wide and vulnerable.

“What are you doing?” Morro asked, almost breathlessly. TJ turned her head slightly to the side, confused.

“Um… Comforting you?”

Morro drew his arms to his chest, trying to push away the faint feeling of the Preeminent’s grip. “You can’t just touch people like that, TJ.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, you were just so hurt and scared and I know it always made me feel better when N-” She stopped suddenly. “I should have asked, I’m sorry Morro.”

“It’s okay.” Morro could feel guilt start to creep into his heart, but he didn’t know who it truly belonged to. “Please just ask next time.”

“Of course.” TJ smiled at Morro. She didn’t mean to make him so uncomfortable. She saw him lying there, his heart being tormented by something and she thought… well, she wasn’t quite sure what she thought. One thing was for sure, he was awfully cute in the morning with his usually drab hair all messy. Morro ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face, and TJ felt a chill run down her spine. She hoped he didn’t feel it too.

“We should be getting out of here soon.” Morro pulled up his blankets and rose from the couch.

“Oh!” TJ exclaimed. “I cleaned your clothes, you can change back into them now. I’ll pack some extras for you too.”

“Oh, thanks.” Morro smiled and teased TJ a bit. “Do I get to wear the leather jacket again?” He had grown to like the jacket quite a bit, it fit his style much better than the disaster of pajamas he was currently wearing. TJ laughed.

“Sure, if it’d make you happy!”

Morro smiled. “It would.”

“So,” TJ stood up and began to pace in the living room, hand on her chin in a playful manner. “Who would know where the ninja are?” Morro wasn’t quite sure. Last time he was here was during the attack on Stiix, then the Day of the Departed, and he wasn’t entirely sure what had happened in between those events. There was someone who always kept dirt on everyone, though… 

“Probably Ronin, but who knows where he could be. Except maybe with his stupid boyfriend, Dareth.”

“Oh! The dojo guy? I know him! I’ll go get your clothes and after we get dressed I can drive you there!” Morro blinked a few times. That was certainly easier than he thought it would be.

Before the pair knew it they were back on Monty, tearing through the city in the direction of the dojo. Upon arrival, they parked Monty out front and prepared to enter the Brown Ninja’s domain. The inside of the dojo was damaged, tackily decorated with nauseating shades of brown, beads in the doorways, and most likely fake trophies sitting triumphantly in their cases. Dareth was leaning up against the wall, chatting with Ronin, just as TJ said they would be.

The sound of two potential patrons drew Dareth and Ronin’s attention away from each other and to the front door. Upon eye contact with Morro, Ronin’s face was filled with brief shock, then intense anger. Dareth was, in true Dareth fashion, scared and jumped behind Ronin.   
  


“Get back!” Ronin shouted, pulling his Deepstone Aeroblade from its holster. It was gone as soon as it came, as Morro used his mastery over the wind to knock the blade from Ronin’s hand. Morro then used the wind to knock Ronin back into the wall, causing Ronin to crumple down to the floor. Ronin’s impact caused Dareth to panic and attempt to hide behind a punching bag. TJ grabbed Morro’s arm and yanked it hard to get his attention.

“Stop that! We aren’t here to fight!” She huffed at him and frowned. “You never told me you could control the wind!”

“I bet that’s not all that phantom hasn’t told you,” Ronin snarled as he stood back up. Morro scowled at him.

“You’re one to talk you dirty thief.” Morro spotted a nasty glare from TJ out of the corner of his eye and folded his arms in defeat. “But she’s right, we’re not here to fight you. Tell me where the ninja are hiding.” TJ raised her eyebrow at Morro. “Please.”

“Yeah, like I’d ever tell you that.” Ronin pulled back and readied himself to swing at Morro at any given moment. “How’d you crawl back from your hole this time, bone boy?”

“That’s none of your-”

“I accidentally summoned him and now I can’t send him back,” TJ said, raising her hand in a somewhat embarrassed fashion. “We’re gonna ask Master Wu for help.”

“TJ, don’t just tell people that,” Morro whined. Dareth poked his head out from behind the punching bag.

“TJ! Oh, Ronin, she’s a sweet girl. You can trust her, she’s telling the truth.”

“Not with company like that I can’t!” Ronin snarled. Morro bared his teeth back at Ronin with a low growl emanating from his throat. TJ grabbed Morro’s hand softly and his face suddenly went neutral. She gave him a gentle squeeze.

“He just wants to go back to the Departed Realm, I promise,” TJ pleaded. “He’s not here to hurt anyone.” Morro wasn’t so sure about that last statement. A quick punch to Ronin’s teeth would make him smile for sure, but something in him knew TJ wouldn’t let that happen.

Ronin bit his lip. “Dareth how do you know this girl?”

“She hangs out in the art district and makes all those toys and stuff dance. I like to watch sometimes.” Both Ronin and Morro turned to TJ with confused expressions.

“It makes kids smile. Their parents even give me spare change sometimes,” she explained.

“I’m not telling you where the ninja are,” Ronin said.

“What if we paid you?” Morro asked.

“I  _ might  _ tell you where the ninja are.”

“They’re at the Airjitzu Temple,” Dareth blurted out, still hiding behind the punching back. Ronin’s head snapped around to face him.

“Dareth you  _ idiot _ , we could have worked out a deal!”

“Heh, sorry.”

Morro cracked a wicked smile that spread completely across his face. He just couldn’t help himself. Nothing was more satisfying than idiots giving him exactly what he wanted.

“Thanks for the tip,” he taunted. Hand still grasped by TJ’s, he pulled her right out the door before Ronin could get another word in. The duo hopped back onto Monty and Morro wrapped his arms around TJ’s torso with such speed it made her jump. “Let’s get out of here before they tell the ninja we’re coming. I’ll tell you the way.” Morro’s mischievous smile was still plastered on his face, and it made TJ feel a bit uneasy. She could tell there was some kind of sick excitement brewing inside of him, and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Oh, uh, okay,” TJ said as they started to drive away. “Please behave yourself when we get there.”

“No promises,” Morro said with false sweetness. He felt a huge twinge of pleasure imagining the ninjas’ faces when they’d see him. Oh! The shock would be hilarious! They’d try to murder him on sight, but Morro was confident in his ability to take them down. His mind wandered to the look on Lloyd’s face when he’d stand over him, laughing in triumph at taking the Green Ninja down and all his little friends… his friends. Morro frowned. He helped them save their friend Cole on the Day of the Departed when he had passed through into Ninjago. Certainly, they’d remember his help, wouldn’t they? Perhaps they wouldn’t attack him. Perhaps they’d-

Morro’s stomach soured. No, they’d never  _ welcome  _ him back. That was absurd, comically insane to even think of. What he did for Cole was nothing compared to the evil he’d unleashed on Ninjago. They’d attack him, there was no doubt about it. He’d have to defend himself and TJ… TJ! Would they fight her too? Would they hurt her? Morro knew he couldn’t let that happen. Not on his watch. Morro became consumed by his thoughts and anxieties but still grounded enough to direct TJ to the temple. He figured at this point just about anything could happen. He’d need to be prepared for it.

Upon arriving at the Airjitzu Temple, TJ noticed a problem. The temple was suspended in the air, with no ropes or ladders in sight. TJ stopped Monty underneath the temple, and both her and Morro dismounted. She took a moment to pace around and try to solve the problem at hand. “How are we gonna get up there?”

“I can get the two of us up,” Morro responded. “But not Monty.”

“Monty baby, go home. I’ll call you if I need you,” TJ said as she slung her backpack onto herself. Monty let out a hiss of agreement and drove off into the direction of Ninjago City. “Okay, how are you getting us up there?”

“Airjitzu. But you’re going to have to hold onto me.”

“Woah there Mr. Touchy!” TJ laughed. “Like hold onto your waist or something?” Morro blushed.

“You don’t have to make it weird,” he complained.

“Oh my gosh, Morro, I’m pulling your leg!” TJ walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Morro’s blush grew deeper at the touch. “I dunno what you’re about to do, but I trust you. Take us up!”

Trust wasn’t something most people had in Morro. He froze for a moment, trying to process TJ’s words. He then pulled TJ in closer, making sure his grip was firm enough as not to drop her.

“Alright, here we go.”

The duo was propelled upward into the sky, causing TJ to yelp and squeeze Morro tighter. They were flying through the air, then landed gracefully onto the yard surrounding the temple in the sky. TJ’s legs turned to jelly as her feet touched the ground and Morro had to hold her to keep her from collapsing.

“Ohhh,” TJ whined with a shaky voice. “That was scarier than I thought.” Morro could feel bits of her fear inside of him.

“It’s okay,” he said, still holding her up. “It’s over now, you’re safe.”

“Thanks.” TJ caught her breath and stood back up straight. “Let’s go see your sensei.”

The ninja were currently engrossed in a four on four fighting game, aside from Jay, who was half paying attention to his phone. The crew was taking a well-deserved break from the normal battling evil for a little R&R. There were snacks scattered across the room, pillows and blankets piled up, and lots of shouting and taunts in the air. A knock came on the front door.

“Jay!” Kai called out. “Go get the door!”

“Okay, sheesh!” Jay jumped off the couch and walked out of the room grumbling. After a moment there was a scream followed by the door slamming shut and Jay bolted back into the room. “Guys we have a really big problem!!!”

“Like what?” Zane said as he and the other ninja turned their heads to face Jay. Before they knew it, they were all staring Morro himself in the face, along with a girl none of them knew. 

“Morro!!!” Lloyd screamed out, rushing to his feet.

Kai drew flames from his hands. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here!”

“We kicked your butt once, we’ll do it again!” Cole taunted.

“As much as it would please me to best all of you in a fight, that’s not why I’m here,” Morro remarked, smirking. His smirk was wiped away by a nudge to his side.

“Don’t say that Morro, you sound creepy,” TJ scolded. “What he means to say is he and I need to talk to your Sensei Wu.”

“And who would you be?” Lloyd asked, a flame growing in his crimson eyes. TJ found it odd his eyes were such a bright red color. Then again, her eyes were a vibrant pink, so maybe she wasn’t one to wonder.

“I’m TJ. I can like control inanimate objects and stuff and I accidentally brought your friend to life.”

“That is  _ not  _ our friend!” Jay shouted. “He tried to kill us and curse all of Ninjago!”

“Not to mention he  _ possessed  _ me!” Lloyd chimed in.

“Plus stole our powers!” Kai added.

“And he turned me into a ghost!” Cole yelled. Morro glared back at him. 

“I didn’t even do that one!”

“Oh,” Cole remarked. “Right.”

“Point still stands!” Kai pointed at Morro. “He’s an evil jerk!”

Lloyd summoned up a green ball of energy. “Hope you enjoy the Departed Realm, Morro.” He threw his elemental energy right at Morro. TJ slid in front of Morro and summoned up her animated energy, throwing the puff of magenta smoke toward the energy ball. They met in a bright explosion which quickly faded away. TJ then forced more power out of her hands, the smoke rushing into each of the ninja’s clothes. The veins on her body grew as her powers rushed out. 

“Hey! What?! I can’t move!” Jay panicked. TJ was heaving in and out, slow, heavy breaths. Her voice was low and level when she spoke, and it chilled the room. Hearing such lack of emotion from TJ’s voice shook Morro.

“We’re going to talk about this like adults and not kill each other, okay?” The ninja all nodded and agreed, except for Lloyd. TJ turned her head to face him. “ _ Okay _ ?”

“Yeah… okay.”

TJ’s powers returned to her, releasing the ninja from her grip. She faltered a little, causing Morro to catch her once again.

“Ninja, what is all of this-” Master Wu said as he entered the room. His eyes fell upon Morro holding a stranger. “-noise?”

“Master, Morro’s back!” Kai ran up to Wu with Jay following behind.

“And his friend kept us from moving!”

Zane spoke up as well. “She said she can control inanimate objects. She even used our clothes to hold us still.”

Wu spotted TJ’s veins on her hands. “The Master of Animation.”

“Sensei, what does that mean?” Lloyd asked.

“Morro, you and your companion come and speak with me, please. Ninja, go back to what you were doing. This will only be a moment.” Wu left from where he came with Morro and TJ following behind him. Lloyd noticed Morro was still helping her walk. It struck him as unusual for Morro.

The trio found themselves in Master Wu’s bedroom, which was clean and spacious, aside from some momentos gathered over the years. Wu shut the door as Morro and TJ sat down on the bed. Morro kept his hands on TJ’s arms as she settled down, and Wu took special note of it. Wu then sat down in his chair, facing the pair on the bed.

“Are you alright?” Morro asked. The concern in his voice brought Wu back to a simpler time. It sounded like when Morro was a young boy, before he ever knew of the prophecy of the Green Ninja.

“Yeah, I’m alright. If I use too much of my powers it makes me kinda tired and dizzy is all,” TJ said as she ran her hands through her hair.

Wu stroked his beard. “That would be because your elemental power is connected directly to your life force.”

“Elemental power?”

Wu nodded. “You’re the Master of Animation, aren’t you? You can bring inanimate objects to life.”

TJ blinked a few times. She knew she had powers, but an elemental  _ master _ ? That had to be fake, she was no master of anything.

“Sir that’s not… I mean I don’t think I’m what you say I am. I’m not like all of you.”

Wu took a moment to ponder on what TJ could mean by that. Something in her tone wasn’t quite right. But that was a problem for later, he figured. “Would you care to tell me what happened that caused the both of you to come here?”

Morro took turns with TJ explaining their odd predicament. Wu listened intently, his face contorting with focus, entrenched in the story and carefully trying to figure out what had caused such a strange reaction. 

“It appears your spirit lingered in this world Morro. TJ’s powers summoned you back, and now the two of your souls are connected, unable to separate.”

“Is it permanent?” Morro asked.

“No,” Wu replied. “For the two of you to separate, your spirit must find peace, Morro.”

Morro gritted his teeth. “Oh, so it  _ is  _ permanent.”

“Morro, you must find forgiveness in order to pass on.”

“That’s impossible, Sensei, and you know it!” Morro grabbed at his hair, his head dropping to the floor. “After everything I’ve done, all the ninja despise me! All of Ninjago does!”

“Their forgiveness is not impossible, Morro, though it will be difficult. Once your guilt and anger have faded, so will you back to the Departed Realm. In the meantime, you are free to stay here-”

“No!” Morro shot up from the bed. “Your students will kill me the first chance they get!”

“They will not,” Wu corrected. “For whatever happens to you will happen to her as well.”

Morro turned and looked at TJ. Her eyes were wide with shock.

“So like if Morro dies, I’ll die too?”

“Until your life forces are separated, yes,” Wu said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “The two of you need to train and learn how to protect each other until this is fixed.”

“Fine.” Morro crossed his arms and his eyes had an uneasy glare to them. “Just show me to my room, I’m done talking about this.”

Wu frowned. “Very well.” Morro stormed off before Wu and TJ. Wu shook his head, sighing. “He wasn’t always this stubborn. He was such a wonderful and obedient student. Hopefully, you’ll be a more receptive student, TJ.”

“Student? Like one of the ninja or something?”

Wu smiled. “If you would like to be.” The stars in TJ’s eyes grew brighter.

“Oh! Would I ever! Thank you, Sensei Wu!”

“You’re welcome, TJ. I’ll show you and Morro to your room, then introduce you to the other Ninja.”

\-----

Lloyd was pacing around the room as the rest of the ninja bickered among themselves.

“Why would Morro return now?” Zane pondered. “After the Day of the Departed, it makes little sense.” Jay raised his hands up to draw everyone’s attention.

“Guys, guys, anyone else thinks it’s weird he’s got a girlfriend?”

“No way!” Kai scoffed. “Morro could never land a girl like that! He’s probably got her prisoner or something.”

“Or she’s into weirdos,” Jay retorted, eyebrows raised.

“It just doesn’t add up.” Lloyd was still pacing, his hand on his chin. “He tries to kill us, then helps us save Cole, then shows up to hurt us again? What is he up to?”

Wu reentered the room with Morro and TJ, causing the conversation to halt. Wu hoped to clear up the confused and concerned faces in the room.

“Due to an accident Morro has returned to Ninjago, so he and his companion will be staying with us for the time being.” Wu was met with even more concerned faces.

“Master Wu, n-” Lloyd began to object.

“This is not up for discussion,” Wu rebutted. Lloyd bit his lip, trying not to let another outburst slip.

“TJ, these are the ninja: Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Zane, Cole…” Wu trailed off. “Where are Nya and Rain?”

The door of the temple opened and a familiar voice called out, belonging to the elemental master of water. “Hey everyone, we got snacks!”

“And Lloyd, I got you some chocolate, I know you've been wanting some,” the master of glass called out to her boyfriend. Nya and Rain stopped dead in their tracks upon finding Morro and a stranger in their temple. Without hesitation, Rain dropped her bags and rushed at Morro. The movement was far too quick for anyone, especially Morro, to react, so he couldn’t dodge the punch that landed square in his gut. He keeled over in pain, and TJ winced her eyes as she felt the remnant of the blow in her stomach. Lloyd lunged forward and grabbed his girlfriend, yanking her away from Morro. She was struggling in a fit of rage.

“ _ You _ ! I’ll kill you! You despicable creature!”

Morro straightened his back a little, clenching his gut with his fist. “Nice to see you too, Raindrop,” he remarked sarcastically. Morro couldn’t help a smile when Rain’s face grew hotter with anger.

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ call me that you-! You-!!!” Her emotions overwhelmed her ability to think. Lloyd held her in an embrace and tried to calm her back down.

“Rain, baby, it’s okay. It’s me, I’m here. I’m safe, it’s okay…” At the same time, TJ moved in to help Morro.

“Morro are you okay?” she asked, grabbing his arm to help him stay up.

“It’s fine, it’s just pain,” he winced. “Probably deserved it anyways.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Okay, what’s ghost boy doing here?” Nya’s hands were on her hips, and she was not pleased.

“Long story sis, we’ll explain later,” Kai replied.

Morro stood back up completely straight, still holding his gut. “Since those  _ lovely  _ introductions are over, I’ll be headed to my room now.” He promptly turned around, moving out of TJ’s grip and toward the room. TJ surveyed the living area. All eyes were on her, and most of them were not happy. She felt a sickly heat rise up in her body. 

“I’ll um, I’ll go with him,” TJ sputtered out nervously in between awkward laughs. She quickly went after Morro.

\-----

Morro knew the knock on the door was TJ. When she entered the room, Morro was spread across the bed, lying on his back. His eyes were squeezed shut, and TJ could fell he was holding back a great deal of turmoil bubbling in his chest.

“Well, it didn’t go as terrible as I expected,” Morro heaved out. “I’m still alive.”

“Morro, what in Ninjago did you do to these people?”

“Everything they said,” Morro replied with no emotion in his voice. “Except for Cole becoming a ghost, that was Yang, not me.”

TJ scratched at the back of her neck. “I dunno, I have a hard time believing you’re a bad person.”

Morro let out an ugly laugh at her. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.” He sat up on the bed, his eyes emitting a cold aura. “I’m a monster.”

TJ crossed her arms in defiance. “Monsters don’t carry that much remorse and pain over what they’ve done. Monsters don’t comfort their friends when they’re crying through the night. Monsters don’t try to be better, Morro, and I know you’re trying.”

Morro laid back down on the bed, this time on his side. “You’re a fool, TJ… I’ll prove you wrong.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it.” TJ sat down on the bed beside him. “I know you care about me. It may not be much, but I know it’s there. You have the capability to care, to be better, Morro.” She flashed that gap-toothed smile at him. “I’m gonna prove  _ you  _ wrong, you goof.”

Morro looked at TJ’s face while she spoke. Despite her cheerful nature, he could tell she was being serious. How she could possibly believe in someone like him, he wasn’t sure. But she did, he knew she did. Would she turn out right in the end, or would he destroy that belief?

Only time could tell now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rain Valentine belongs to Speedythecat


End file.
